Damper control device



Aug.2fs,1934. F',MYOUNG 1,971,841

DAMPER CONTROL DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1932 lfatentecll ug. 2'8, 1,934

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i DAMPER CONTROL DEVICE Fred M. Young,Racine, Wis. Applieatien December 27, 1932, serial No. 648,872

4 claims. (o1. sis-101) My inventionV relates generally to a dampercontrolling device for use on a cabinet form of. convection heater,wherein a cabinet forming `.a fluev is equipped with a radiator coreand'r air is caused to naturallycirculate throughvthe core and cabinet,and a damper is positioned in theV cabinet with which to manuallycontrol the volume of air passing therethrough. Y

An object of my invention 'is to provideV a strong and simple hinge forthe damper, having manual controlling means thereon, forming a unitaryassembly which is positive, simple and proof against binding ormisalignment.

A further object of my invention is Vto provide means to prevent saggingof the damperends, when removed a considerable distance from-thecontrolling hinge, whereby the ends'will contactV the wall of thecabinetahead of the center portion. thereby to cause a close fitting damperthroughout its entire lengthwhen closed i-.and further to pull thedamper against the operating means thereby to cause the" damperto morefclosely followfthe movement of thel operating means. f

I accomplish these objects by means of a manually operated worm drivecentrally positioned, unitary hingeand end hinges having' springs whichact to hold ends of the damper toward the closed position.

To these and other useful ends thisinvention consists in matterhereinafter Yset forth and' claimedand shown in the accompanying drawingin which:

Fig.l 1 is a front elevation of 1a convectionV heater equipped with myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a sectionalside view of the .heater as shown in Fig. 1 takenon line 2V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a pictorial view ofthe unitary damperY control hinge. f 4 Fig.4 is a rear plan view of the main half of thev damper control hinge.Fig. 5- is aside plan vview ofthe part 'ofthe hinge shown f1. s 'f 45Fig. 6 Ais Ya fractional kview of the damper` showing 'a fraction'of theunitary hinge and one of the end hinges equipped'with a weightcouninduce a strongair current to pass therethrough in a manner whichwill hereinafter appear.

In the preferred form shown the cabinet is supported by means of legs 11whereby the air can readily enter the open bottom of the Ycabi-,60 net,as indicated by arrows in Fig. 2. Within the cabinet and at the bottomthereof is positioned a radiator core which Vin its entirety'isdesignated bythe reference character A, the ns of which extendsubstantially to or within close 65.'v proximity of the side and endwalls of the cabinetlwhereby all of the air that enters the cabinet willbe heated, the-air thus heated creating a natural draft as it rises inthe cabinet.

VIn the form shown'in Figs. 1 and 2 in the 70 upper front panel of theVcabinet IV provide a Y plurality-of narrowgclosely spaced openings 12forming a grille, for the passage of the heated air into the room fromthe cabinet.

" '1 provideV a damper 13 and means whereby this 75 dampermay be used toregulate the flow of air through the chimneyinthev following manner:Thevends of damper 13 are positioned close to the end walls of thecabinet.Y These dampers are frequently quite long and, therefore,usually so Y require three hinges, one preferably atthe center and oneat each end thereof. The unitary control-hinge is preferablypositionedin the center of the damper andcomprises a vertical baseportion'14 which isbent at right angle as at 15, 85 (seeFigs. 3 and)thus forming a horizontal piece 16, the end of which is formed toembrace pin 17, and cut out asat 18 to thus provide an f openingA forthe otheror damper half 19 of the hinge, the rear end of kwhich is alsobent to embrace pin 17 within-the openinglS as indicated in Fig;. 3..The toothed sectorf20 is an integral part of119 but bent at right anglethereto, thereby to form `a 'sector' with teeth which arevon la radiuswith vthe pin17 which forms an axis for the hinge. Y

As shown in Figs. 3, 4 ends, an extendedand -integral partof 14 is bentat right angle as at 21 and berit again as at 22,`forming apart 23 whichisl parallel to' part 14 and extending far enough to 'thereby providefor spaced-apart bear- YingV openingsV 24e- '24 for the worm shaft Y25,as

shown in Fig. 5 by dotted lines. The wormr26 is preferablyformedintegral with theV shaft 25.` The collar 27 and knurled knob 28 arepositioned 'l0 on the-outer end of 'shaft 25 `whereby the worm 26 maybemanually turned to the right or Vleft `by means of the knob 28, the worm26 engaging the teeth of sector 201fas shown;fthus the hinge portionA19"will beturned'on its axis 17. The 1.10 l

worm 26 will obviously be held against end movenient by means of collar27.

Thus a unitary hinge is provided which is formed from two flat pieces ofsteel in a manner which will insure simplicity, low cost and rigidity.In order to stiften the bend at 15, a depression 29 is pressed into theparts 14 and l5 to thereby form a substantial brace for these parts. l

Referring now to Fig. 2 it will be seen that an angle bar 30 is attachedto the front wall of the cabinet adjacent and above the grille openingsl2 one leg of said angle bar eXtendingin-- wardly, thereby forming asupport to which the hinge portion 16 is attached, as indicated, in anysuitable manner, but preerably in a position whereby the collar 27 willprotrude through one or the openings 12 at or near the centerof thecabinet.

Considerable horizontal width is required fo the unitary hinge. I show anovel form oiihinge support or mounting, wherein this support is usedfor several purposes. The inwardly extending leg of angle bar 30 is of asuitable width to thereby form a suitable support for the hinges and aclosure between the upper edge of the damper 13 and the cabinet wall. Aurtheradvantage of this angle bar is that it materially strengthens thecabinet wall at a point adjacent the grilles where it has been weakened.There may be a narrow opening between the damper and its support whenthe damper vis in its closed or open position as shown in Figs. 2 and8.- In order to seal this opening an inwardly projecting plate 38 isattached to the Vupper surface of the horizontal leg or angle bar 30as'shown.

Thus it will be observed that by turning the knob 28, the damper 13which is attached to'19,l as indicated, may be movedto and held in theposition'shown in Fig. 2, thus permitting free passage of air throughthe cabinet 10 and grillev openings 12, or this damper may be moved tothe position shown by dotted lines, thereby clos-v ing the grille andstopping the passage of air through the cabinet or the damper maybe'moved to any intermediate position. o Y

Referring now to Fig. 8, it will ybe seen thatv the grilles 41 arepositioned in the top of cabinet 40. In this design the damper andhinges may be` positioned and designed exactlyas shown in Figs. 1 and2,v a special opening, however, being necessary in the front wall of thecabinet for the collar 27. t

Thus it will be seen that whilethe construction and position or thedamper 13 in Fig. 8 is exactly like the showing in Fig. 2, the order ofoperation is reversed.A That is, when the damper- 13 is in the positionshown in Fig. 8, the passage of air through the cabinet-will beprevented or shut oi. The opening may be enlarged by turn-r ing the knob28 until there is no obstruction to the passage of air through thecabinet.V I

In the form of cabinet shown -in Figs. 1, 2 and 8, end hinges arenecessarybut in very large and long units the ends of the damper willsag, thus leaving an opening at the ends, when the damper .is closed,through which heated air mayl pass.

To remedy this fault, I provide springs 34 which are positioned in theend hinges whereby they vwill counteract the weight and rpermit sag ofthe damper at its ends and thereby hold the ends of the damper snuglyagainst the rear or front` wall of the cabinet.

Referring to Fig. 6 the main endl hinge portion 30 is formed thereby toengage the hinge pin.31.

The opening 32 is made long enough to provide room for hinge portion 33and spring 34 as illustrated. This spring is adapted to move the damper13 into a closed position in the design shown in either Figs. 2 or 8. Ineither event, the free ends of the damper 13 will be held slightly aheadof, the center edge in the direction of the closed position, thuscontact with the front or rear wall of the cabinetl will be'rst made atthe ends of the damper. A further turning of the knob 28 will result inbringing the entire free edge of the damper in close contact with thewall of the cabinet.

It will be seen that the action of the springs will be to take up allslack or lost motion in the operating means to thereby cause the damperto more closely follow the movement of the knob, thus to make theadjusting operation more dennite.

It will be understood that the air inlet may be in the form of agrilleat the bottom of the front panel of the cabinet, in which case theradiating core would be' positioned just above the inlet grille.

Thus it will be seen thatI have provided a simple, strong, reliabledamper control with means whereby the heated air may beeasily anddenitely controlled. f

It will be understood that minor detailed changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope .ofmy invention, and that my improved deviceisfapplicable to many forms of cabinets or for various otherpurposes.

f lHaving thus shown and described my invention, what IV claim as newkand desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i l

` 1.` A damper control device of the class describedcomprising acabinet, a radiator core, a damper, acentrally positioned vunitarycontrol hinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular inhorizontal section and having an air inlet vat the bottom and an airoutlet at the top thereof, said radiator positioned in said cabinetadjacent said inlet, said damper hingedly attached to the frontV Wallofsaidjcabinet and on the inside thereof by means of said unitary and endVhinges and having a'size and shape whereby said air outlet may beclosed or the'quantity of air passing therethrough regulated, saidunitary hinge having -a Worm and sector and a `worm shaft which extendsthrough an enlarged `opening in the front wall of said cabinet, saidshaft having controlling means on the protruding 'end' thereofcooperating vwith said worm whereby said damper may be manually movedand held inA any predetermined position, said end hinges having springswhich actto cause the ends of said damper to contactthe wallszofr 'said'cabinet ahead of the central portion when approachingtheclosedposition.;` f y 2. A damper control :device of the class described,comprising a cabinet, a damper,l a unitary self-locking centrallypositioned controlling hinge and end hinges, said damper hingedlysupported to the wall `of said cabineton the' inside thereofbymeans ofsaid-unitary andjend hinges, said unitary hinge having a main/'body anda swinging portion adapted to hingedlyl support said damper'and having asector, said main body having a shaft wholly supported thereon, a wormonthe inner end of said shaft 'adapted to engage saidsector, the outerend of said shaft protruding through an enlarged opening in said`cabinet and having ,means whereby'A said damper may `be manuallycontrolled, springs o said end hinges adapted to warp the ends thereoftoward the closing direction.

3. A damper control device of the class described comprising, a cabinet,a damper, a damper Supporting member, a centrally positioned unitaryhinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular in horizontalsection and having an air outlet at or near the top thereof, said dampersupporting member being L shaped in cross section and attached to thewall of said cabinet on the inside thereof adjacent said air outlet, oneleg projecting inwardly, said damper hingedly attached to said inwardlyprojecting leg by said unitary and end hinges, the axes of which areadjacent the inner edge of said projecting leg, said unitary hingehaving a sector and a worm and a shaft the end of which extends throughan enlarged opening in the front wall of said cabinet, controlling meanson the end of said projecting shaft, whereby said damper, cooperatingwith said supporting means, may be manually moved to thereby close saidair outlet or regulate the opening thereof.

4. A damper control device of the class de-V scribed comprising, acabinet, a damper, a damper supporting member, a centrally positionedunitary hinge and end hinges, said cabinet being rectangular inhorizontal section and having an air outlet at or near the top thereof,said damper supporting member having anvinwardly project'- ing legattached to the inner wall of said cabinet moved to thereby close saidair outlet or regulate the opening thereof.

FRED M. YOUNG.

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